Butt plate with monopod

ABSTRACT

A butt plate for a gun, in particular a long gun, with an intermediate piece to be attached to the rear side of a butt of the gun facing toward the shooter and with a plate made of a recoil-damping material, which is attachable to the side of the intermediate piece facing toward the shooter. A monopod is accommodated in a recess of the intermediate piece in a slidable manner such that the monopod can be moved from a position in which it is substantially arranged within the recess into at least a second position in which an end of the monopod protrudes out of the intermediate piece in such a manner that the butt can be supported on a solid base by means of the monopod. The intermediate piece is substantially made of a machinable material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Patent Application DE 10 2013 003 906.1 filed Mar. 8, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a butt plate for a gun, in particular for a long gun, comprising a monopod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Long guns, in particular for precise shooting over long distances, usually require a stable three-point support when firing. This is often achieved in practice in that a so-called bipod is attached to the fore-end of the gun, which can be folded down when needed. The third support point is often formed by the end of the butt stock which is placed on a solid base.

Further, a monopod is known which is integrated in the butt stock of a gun and can be pulled out when needed so as to adjust the height of the third support point. This does significantly improve accuracy, but subsequent attachment to any type of gun is not always possible or produces aesthetically unpleasant results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Starting from this state of the art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a butt plate with an integrated monopod which has a simple structure, provides high accuracy and can be subsequently mounted to almost any gun with different butt shapes in a simple and easy manner.

This object is attained by a butt plate according to the present invention.

First of all, the butt plate of the present invention for a gun, in particular for a long gun, comprises an intermediate piece to be attached to the rear side of the butt of the gun facing toward the shooter and a plate made of a recoil-damping material, which can be attached to the side of the intermediate piece facing toward the shooter. A monopod is accommodated in a recess of the intermediate piece in a slidable manner such that the monopod can be moved from a position in which it is substantially arranged within the recess into at least a second position in which an end of the monopod protrudes out of the intermediate piece in such a manner that the butt can be supported on a solid base by means of the monopod. According to the invention, the intermediate piece is substantially made of a machinable material. In other words, this means that it can be adapted to different butt geometries in an easy manner by simply regrinding the intermediate piece so that, on the one hand, an aesthetically pleasing unity of gun and butt plate is produced and, on the other hand, almost any gun can be retrofitted with a butt plate of this kind.

In this context, any material can be used as long as sufficient machinability is ensured. Preferably, however, the intermediate piece is made of a plastic material, in particular of polyoxymethylene (POM). Also, it is advantageous if the plastic material is through-colored because then an unchanged surface color is maintained after machining as intended.

The monopod can basically be formed in any given manner and can be embodied by a threaded bolt, for example, which can be screwed into and out of the intermediate piece. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the monopod comprises a pod element and a pin element, the pod element being provided with latching elements on its outer side and having a forwardly open recess at least in sections, said recess being provided with an inside thread into which a pin element can be screwed. In other words, the monopod is formed in two parts with a pod element and with a pin element that can be screwed into the pod element. Thus, the adjusting range can be enlarged overall because, for example, the pod element can initially be pulled out entirely and when it has reached its end position the pin element can additionally be screwed out.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment example of the invention, the latching elements of the pod element are formed by the turns of a trapezoidal thread arranged on the outer side of the pod element, the inside thread being formed as a fine thread at the same time. Thus, at first, a coarse or quick adjustment of the monopod can be performed by pulling or screwing out the pod element and a subsequent fine adjustment can be achieved by screwing the pin element in or out of the fine inside thread of the pod element.

To lock and adjust the butt plate, a locking element is provided according to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, said locking element being arranged in a second recess running transversely to the longitudinal axis of the first recess in such a manner that at least one latching tooth of the locking element can be brought into engagement with the latching elements of the pod element and can be released again from said engagement by means of an actuating element. Thus, a coarse or quick adjustment of the pod element can be performed in a particularly easy and fast manner by a simple sliding motion.

According to a preferred embodiment example of the invention, the locking element is provided with a recess running transversely to its longitudinal axis, said recess being engaged by the pod element, the latching tooth being arranged in the area of the inner wall of the recess. The recess can have a closed circumference in the manner of a through bore, the locking element completely surrounding the pod element, or it can be formed as a recess open to one side, said recess surrounding the pod element only at one side.

To achieve a reliable and smooth coarse and fine adjustment, in particular also when the locking element is not actuated, according to another embodiment example of the invention, the latching tooth is arranged angularly on the locking element in such a manner that its inclination substantially corresponds to the pitch of the trapezoidal thread. In other words, this means that the latching tooth represents a very short section of a mating thread of the trapezoidal thread, said section causing an axial motion of the pod element when the pod element is rotated and thus causing a rotation out of or into the intermediate piece.

In the simplest manner, the latching tooth can be integrally molded to the locking element, in particular to the inner wall of the recess. According to another embodiment example of the invention, however, the locking element comprises a dowel pin which is arranged in a bore that opens radially in sections to the recess of the locking element, the dowel pin protruding into said recess with its outer circumferential surface, thus forming the latching tooth. On the one hand, this leads to an increased protection of the latching tooth against mechanical damage and, on the other hand, this facilitates production of the locking element.

To ensure a secure locking position of the locking element, according to another embodiment example of the invention, at least one spring element is provided in the second recess, said spring element pressing the locking element against the latching elements of the pod element when the actuating element is not actuated. The locking engagement can be released in a simple manner by pressing the locking element against the spring force of the spring element.

According to another embodiment example, for actuating the locking element, the actuating element is formed by an axial end of the locking element which is formed as an actuating button. The actuating button and the locking element can be formed as one piece or instead the actuating button is arranged as a separate element on the locking element and is attached thereto.

According to a particularly preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, at least the actuating button—preferably, however, the entire locking element—is also made of a machinable material, in particular of polyoxymethylene (POM). In this way, the geometry of the actuating element, too, can be adapted to the shape of the intermediate piece and thus to the shape of the butt, wherein it can be achieved that the actuating element protrudes slightly out of the intermediate piece so as to achieve improved tactility or also that the actuating element is substantially flush with the contour of the intermediate piece or even arranged in a slightly recessed manner so as not to compromise the appearance of the gun.

For attaching the intermediate piece to the butt of the gun, the intermediate piece can have at least one through bore to be engaged by at least one fixing screw for attaching the butt plate to the butt of the gun. Preferably, several bores of this kind are provided in various positions so as to permit attachment to different guns and butts. Further, at least one threaded bore is provided on the intermediate piece for attaching the plate made of recoil-damping material.

The plate made of a recoil-damping material can basically be made of any material as long as a sufficient damping of the recoil forces occurring when firing is ensured. Preferably, however, the plate is substantially made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber or of a rubber mixture and is screwed or vulcanized to the intermediate piece. In particular, it is another advantage of these materials that they can be machined, in particular be grinded into shape, so that an adaptation to the butt and to the gun can also take place in the area of the plate.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment example of a butt plate according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the locking element of the butt plate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment example of a butt plate according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a view of the locking element of the butt plate of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the butt plate of FIG. 3 in the retracted state;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the butt plate of FIG. 3 with the extended pod element; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the butt plate of FIG. 3 with the extended pod and pin elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings in particular, the butt plate illustrated in FIG. 1 has an intermediate piece made of a dimensionally stable material, e.g. of plastic or metal, in particular of a light metal alloy. Said intermediate piece 1, which is connected to the actual butt plate (not shown for the sake of a clearer illustration) or integrally molded into it, serves to attach the butt plate to the gun on the one hand and to accommodate the pull-out monopod on the other hand For attachment to the butt of the gun, the intermediate piece 1 is provided with fixing bores 2 and 3 to be engaged by fixing screws.

For accommodating the monopod, the intermediate piece 1 has a recess 4 which extends through the entire length of the intermediate piece 1 and is open to both sides. The recess has a first section 6 and a second section 7 with different diameters.

A first pod element 5 can be inserted into said recess 4 from the first side. The substantially cylindrical pod element 5 has an outer diameter substantially over its entire length which is at least slightly smaller than the inner diameter of both sections 6 and 7 of the recess 4.

In the area of its end, the pod element 5 is provided with a collar-like projection 8 whose diameter is larger than the inner diameter of section 7, but at least slightly smaller than the diameter of section 6. In other words, this means that, at maximum, the pod element 5 can protrude into section 6 of the intermediate piece only so far until the collar-like projection 8 comes to bear against the upper annular area 9 of section 7. Thus, the pod element 5 is in particular precluded from dropping out.

The pod element 5 is provided with latching elements on its outer side. In the embodiment example illustrated in FIG. 1, said latching elements are represented by a trapezoidal thread 10, which substantially extends across the entire axial length of the pod element and which is only indicated by a dashed line.

In the area of the lower section 7 of the recess 4, a locking element 11 is arranged, which engages into the lower section via a recess 12 running transversely to the longitudinal axis of said recess 4 and penetrates said lower section entirely. Said locking element 11, which is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2, has an arched recess 16 and a latching tooth 14 at the end of said arched recess 16 facing away from the actuating end 13. The latching tooth 14 is formed and sized in such a manner that it can engage into the trapezoidal thread 10 of the pod element 5 with its end.

A spring element 18 is arranged between the end 15 of the locking element 11 and the bottom 17 of the recess 12, said spring element 18 forcing the locking element 11 in the recess 12 to the outside. If now, for mounting the device according to the invention, the locking element 11 is first pressed toward the inside into the recess 12 against the spring force, the pod element 5 inserted in the recess 4 can penetrate the locking element 11 within the recess 12 with its shaft. If the locking element 11 is let go now, the latching tooth 14 of the locking element 11 engages into the trapezoidal thread 10 of the pod element 5 because of the reset force of the spring 18 so that the pod element 5 is locked in its axial position and the locking element 11 is simultaneously secured against dropping out. By actuating the locking element by means of the button 18, the lock can be released and the pod element 5 can be axially adjusted as needed.

The pod element 5 is provided with a forwardly open inside thread 20. A second pin element 21, which is provided with a corresponding outside thread, can be screwed into and out of said inside thread 20. Thus, in a simple manner, first, a coarse adjustment of the monopod can be performed by means of the locking element and the trapezoidal thread of the pod element 5, to be potentially supplemented by a fine adjustment by means of the inside thread 20, which is preferably formed as a fine thread, and by means of the pin element 21.

For the adaptation to different butt shapes, both the intermediate piece 1 and the actuating button 19 can be made of a material that can be brought into the appropriate shape by machining and grinding, e.g. of an easily machinable plastic material.

The embodiment example illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 7 basically has the same structure as the embodiment example illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be taken in particular from FIG. 3, the butt plate has an intermediate piece 22 which can be attached to the butt of a gun (not illustrated) by means of through bores 23. As a finish on the side facing toward the shooter, the butt plate according to the invention further comprises a plate 24 made of a recoil-damping material, in this case of rubber, which can be screwed to the intermediate piece via two fixing screws 25. The fixing screws 25 penetrate the rubber plate 24 in indicated through holes 26 and engage into threaded bores 27 in the intermediate piece 22.

The intermediate piece 22 has a recess 28 extending across its entire length, said recess 28 having two sections with different diameters in correspondence to the embodiment example of FIG. 1. In the area of the section with the smaller diameter, a second recess 29 in the shape of a blind hole is provided, said recess 29 extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the first recess 28 and intersecting the same. In said recess, a locking element 30 is arranged, which will be explained in more detail in the following.

The locking element 30 has a substantially cylindrical base body, which has a recess 31 that runs transversely to its longitudinal axis and can be penetrated by the pod element 32. The recess 31 is formed in the manner of a long hole with the longer axis extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the locking element 30. The front end of the locking element 30 facing to the outside is formed as a button-type actuating element 33 by means of which the locking element can be pressed into the recess 31 against the force of a spring device (illustrated only schematically) formed by two spiral springs 34. The spiral springs 34 are supported with one end on the bottom of the recess 31 formed like a blind hole and with their other end on the front end 34 of the locking element 30 lying opposite of the actuating element 33. For this purpose, the locking element comprises two recesses 35 into which the spiral springs 34 engage.

Further, the locking element 30 has a recess 36, which forms a flange-like supporting surface 37 around the recess 31. Said supporting surface serves as a stop for the collar-like projection 38 at the upper end of the pod element 32 so that the latter cannot drop down out of the locking element and thus out of the butt plate as a whole.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 4, the locking element 30 has a bore 39 that extends transversely and in an offset manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the locking element 30. The bore 39 is arranged angularly to a horizontal plane through the center longitudinal axis of the locking element 30, the inclination of the bore 39 substantially corresponding to the pitch of the trapezoidal outside thread 40 of the pod element 32. In sections, the bore 39 has an opening 44 which is oriented toward the recess. A dowel pin (not illustrated) can be inserted into said bore 39 and protrudes with its outer circumferential surface radially into the recess 31 of the locking element 30, forming a latching element or a latching tooth.

If now the locking element is introduced into the recess 29 of the intermediate piece 22 and is penetrated by the pod element 32, the locking element 30 is pressed to the outside by the reset force of the spiral springs 34 so that the dowel pin and thus, in the terms of the present application, the latching tooth is brought into a latching engagement with the trapezoidal thread 40 of the pod element 32 so that it is axially fixed in a defined position. If the locking element 30 is now pressed toward the inside into the recess 29 by means of the actuating element 33, the latching tooth moves out of its engagement with the trapezoidal thread 40 so that the pod element 32 as a whole can be moved in the direction of the axis. Instead of sliding it axially, the pod element can also be adjusted by rotating in its position relative to the intermediate piece 22 because of the inclination of the latching tooth, the latter taking on the function of a stationary thread nut.

As can be taken from FIG. 3, a pin element 41 is further provided, which has an outside thread and which can be screwed into an inside thread complementary in form and function within the pod element 32. At its end, the pin element is provided with a ball-shaped support element 42, which can be screwed onto the pin element 41 in an exchangeable manner by means of a thread 43.

In the position shown in FIG. 5, the monopod composed of pod element 32 and pin element 41 is shown highly schematically in the retracted position. It is schematically indicated that the bottom side of the intermediate piece 22 can be provided with an enlarged opening of the recess 28 to allow a partially covered placement of the support element in the intermediate piece, in particular for aesthetic reasons. In the position shown in FIG. 6, the pod element 32 is completely extended into its final position, which is defined by the pod element 32 abutting with its collar-like projection 38 against the flange-like support surface 37 of the locking element. In FIG. 7, at last, the monopod is shown in an almost completely extended position, in which the pin element 41, too, is screwed out of the pod element.

For adaptation to different butt shapes on different guns, the butt plate according to the illustrated embodiment example can be machined, for example, by grinding the outer contours of the intermediate piece 22, of the plate 24 and of the actuating element 33 so that a butt plate according to the invention can be mounted to virtually any gun by replacing the existing butt plate.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles. 

1. A butt plate for a gun, in particular a long gun, the butt plate comprising: an intermediate piece to be attached to a rear side of a butt of the gun facing toward a shooter; a plate made of a recoil-damping material, which is attachable to a side of the intermediate piece facing toward the shooter; and a monopod accommodated in a recess of the intermediate piece in a slidable manner such that the monopod can be moved from a position in which said monopod is substantially arranged within the recess into at least a second position in which an end of the monopod protrudes out of the intermediate piece in such a manner that the butt can be supported on a solid base by means of the monopod, the intermediate piece being substantially made of a machinable material.
 2. A butt plate according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate piece is made of a plastic material.
 3. A butt plate according to claim 1, wherein the monopod has a pod element and a pin element, the pod element being provided with pod element latching elements on an outer side thereof and the pod element having a forwardly open recess at least in sections, said open recess being provided with an inside thread into which said pin element can be screwed.
 4. A butt plate according to claim 3, wherein the pod element latching elements are formed by turns of a trapezoidal thread and the inside thread is formed as a fine thread.
 5. A butt plate according to claim 4, further comprising: a locking element arranged in a second recess extending transversely to a longitudinal axis of the recess such that at least one latching tooth of the locking element can be brought into engagement with latching elements of the pin element and can be released again from engagement by means of an actuating element.
 6. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the locking element has a locking element recess extending transversely to a longitudinal axis of the locking element, said locking element recess being engaged by the pod element, the at least one latching tooth being arranged in an area of an inner wall of the recess.
 7. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the at least one latching tooth is angularly arranged on the locking element such that an inclination of the at least one latching tooth substantially corresponds to a pitch of the trapezoidal thread.
 8. A butt plate according to claim 7, further comprising: a dowel pin arranged in a bore opening radially in sections toward the locking element recess of the locking element, the dowel pin protruding with an outer circumferential surface thereof into said locking element recess to form the at least one latching tooth.
 9. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the locking element interacts with at least one spring element arranged in the second recess, said spring element pressing the locking element against the pod element latching elements of the pod element when the actuating element is not being actuated.
 10. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the actuating element is formed by an axial end of the locking element, said axial end being embodied as an actuating button.
 11. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein at least the actuating element is made of the machinable material.
 12. A butt plate according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate piece has at least one through bore for engagement of at least one fixing screw for attaching the butt plate to the butt of the gun and/or at least one threaded bore for attaching the plate made of the recoil-damping material.
 13. A butt plate according to claim 1, wherein the plate made of the recoil-damping material is substantially made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber or a rubber mixture and the plate made of the recoil-damping material is screwed or vulcanized to the intermediate piece.
 14. A butt plate according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate piece is made of polyoxymethylene (POM).
 15. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein at least the actuating element is made of polyoxymethylene (POM).
 16. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the entire locking element is made of the machinable material.
 17. A butt plate according to claim 5, wherein the entire locking element is made of polyoxymethylene (POM).
 18. A butt plate for a gun, in particular a long gun, the butt plate comprising: an intermediate piece comprising a machinable material, an intermediate piece recess, a first side and a second side, said first side facing in a direction of a rear side of a butt of the gun, said second side facing in a direction of a shooter; a plate comprising a recoil-damping material, said plate being connected to said second side; a monopod movably arranged in said intermediate piece recess such that said monopod is movable between at least a first position and a second position, said monopod pod having an end portion, said monopod being substantially arranged within said intermediate recess in said first position, said end portion being located at a position outside of said intermediate piece in said second position.
 19. A butt plate according to claim 18, further comprising: a locking element, said monopod comprising a pod element and a pin element, the pod element being provided with pod element latching elements on an outer side thereof and said pod element having a forwardly open recess at least in sections, said open recess being provided with an inside thread into which said pin element can be screwed, said locking element being arranged in a second recess extending transversely to an intermediate piece longitudinal axis of the intermediate piece recess such that at least one latching tooth of the locking element engages latching elements of the pin element and can be released again from engagement by means of an actuating element.
 20. A butt plate according to claim 19, wherein the locking element has a locking element recess extending transversely to a locking element longitudinal axis of the locking element, said locking element recess being engaged by the pod element, the at least one latching tooth being arranged in an area of an inner wall of the recess. 